Crypto: 'obscure' Laws Stall Bitcoin Reserve: White House Crypto Council...

The bill is still a "priority," White House Crypto Council Director Patrick Witt said, but interagency legalities remain a challenge.

Progress is being made toward establishing a Bitcoin (BTC) strategic reserve in the United States, but “obscure” legal provisions are holding up the process, according to Patrick Witt, the director of the White House Crypto Council.

Several government agencies are discussing the legalities and regulatory issues of establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), Witt told the Crypto in America podcast. He said:

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a “Digital Asset Stockpile” that included altcoins and other types of cryptocurrencies in March 2025.

Establishing a nation-state Bitcoin reserve would be a landmark moment for the world’s first digital currency. However, some in the Bitcoin community have been critical of the executive order, criticizing the Trump administration for underdelivering on its promises.

Related: Sygnum sees tokenization and state Bitcoin reserves taking off in 2026

Trump’s executive order stipulated that the US government would not sell any of its Bitcoin holdings and only add to the strategic reserve through BTC seized in asset forfeiture cases.

The executive order does not allow the government to acquire more Bitcoin or digital assets on the open market, which drew criticism from the Bitcoin community.

“The belief that the federal government will one day build a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve requires a complete detachment from reality,” Bitcoin maximalist Justin Bechler said.

“There is no movement toward a Bitcoin reserve. There is no intention to acquire a fixed-supply asset in good faith. There are only empty speeches, vague references and opportunistic pandering from Washington politicians,” he added.

Source: CoinTelegraph